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trailer, he would pay around $125. Since petitioner was paid per
load, he hired the lumpers so he could unload quickly and then
call dispatch at Ortega to see if there were more loads to be
picked up. Petitioner paid for the fuel for the truck, for which
he was not reimbursed.
When hired by Ortega, petitioner was told that a portion of
petitioner’s earnings would be placed in an escrow account, and
after 2 years of employment that account would be paid to
petitioner. Mr. Ortega also allegedly told petitioner that
income taxes would be withheld from his earnings.
Petitioner was paid weekly, and with every paycheck
petitioner would receive a computer printout detailing the number
of “dispatches” he had, the total dispatch earnings (earnings of
both the truck and the driver), and the driver earnings. The
printout also detailed the escrow amounts that were being
withheld from petitioner’s earnings along with other deductions
such as amounts for “company advances”. The latter were
repayments of amounts that were lent to petitioner to cover his
lumper costs. Escrow amounts and repayments were deducted from
the driver’s gross to determine take home pay. If petitioner did
not have enough earnings to cover the advances, they would be
carried over to the next pay period.
For example, for the week ending March 5, 1994, the total
dispatch earnings were $1,835, and the gross driver earnings were
$1,152. From the driver gross of $1,152, $120 is deducted for
advances (which consists of two $60 advances), and $200 is
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Last modified: May 25, 2011